Focus on grassroots to revive hockey: Dhyan Chand junior

Development from the grassroot level is key to reviving the game of hockey in India, said Ashok Kumar Dhyanchand, son of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand, here today.

Ashok Kumar Dhyanchand, who represented India in the 1972 Munich Olympics and 1976 Montreal Olympics, was in the city to inaugurate the Vadodara Hockey League organised by the Baroda District Hockey Association.

“If the government really wants to see the game developing, it must first start from the city and district levels instead of directly holding selection-cum-election of national-level office-bearers. Those who are developing the game at the grassroots level should be concerned about the game rather than just holding posts. Unless office-bearers are emotionally attached, they will never be able to understand the players,” Ashok Kumar told The Indian Express.

He admitted that association functionaries were largely to be blamed for deterioration of the game. “I just pray that the situation improves once the legal dispute between Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation ends. It is high time that officials and the government realise that merely sending players to play outside India will not change the situation. At home they are given just Rs 100 for food for a day while they play national-level tournaments,” he said.